Truck elevator



May 17,1927. l I1,628,880

W. H. HElSE TRUCK ELEVATOR Filed March 20. 1926 2 Sheets-Sheet l MLU/m4 H A55) May 17,1927'.v 1,628,880

` w. H. HEISE TRUCK ELEVATOR Filed March 20, 192e 2 sheets-snee*u 2 l A T Patented May 17, 1927.

It! WEB S WILLIAM E. HElIISE, OF'LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA.

annex ELEvA'roB.

Application mea maren 2o, 192s. serial No. 96,167.

This invention relatesl to an elevator attachment for trucking vehicles Firms which ship heavy objects are usually equipped with' facilities for placing them on an a removing them from trucking vehicles. Firms which only occasionally ship heavy objects do not, as a rule, have facilities for handling them, and consequently when a heavy object must be handled, additional il@ manual assistance is required.

lt is an object of this invention to provide'an elevator attachment for vehicles, by means of which heavy objects may he placed on and removed from .vehicles with little M labor and without additional help.

llt is a further object of this invention to ,provide an elevator `attachment. of this character which is superior to other elevator attachments by reason of its cheapness to 2@ manufacture and easiness to operate.

Other objects and advantages of this iuvention will be made apparent hereinafter.

Referring tothe two drawings in which 1 illustrate a preferred form of4 my inveni tion,

Figure 1 is an elevational View of the hack end of a trucking vehicle having the elevator attachment of my invention secured thereto.

Fig. 2 is a view similar to Fig. 1 but showing the elevator in lowered position.

Fig. 3 is a sectionltakenon the line 3-3 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of a portion of the invention..

Fig. 5 is a section taken on the line 5--5 of Fig. 3; a

Referring particularly to the drawings, the numeral 11 denotes a vehicle to which my invention. is attached. Frames 13 of this invention are attached at the rear opposite corners of a floor 14 of the vehicle 11. These frames 13 (Fig. 5)4 each have a hody 15, an upper arm 16 and a lower arm 17. Each body has a cavity 18 formed therein into which a portion of the floor 14 extends, the frames being rigidly secured tothe door 14 by means of riveted bolts 20. Each frame 13 supports a vertical hearing 21 which is provided in the form of a tube. Each upper arm 16 has a formation 22, and each body 15 has an opening 23 through which each vertical .bearing 21 extends. The vertical bearings 21 maybe secured to the lframes 13 by welding or any other suitable vmanner. Each of the lvertical bearings 21 is provided with' a vertical slot'25 which is formed in the rear parts d thereof. Aligning with the slots 25 are slots 26 and 27 formed in the formations 60 22 of vthe upper arm 16 and in the bodies .15, respectively. Carried in each of the vertical 'bearings 21 is a post 28 which is carried-so that it may be moved vertically in each vertical bearing 21. At the lower end ofeach post 28 there is formed an ear- 29, and at the upper end of each post 28 there is formed a lug 30. When the posts 28'are moved from raised position to lowered position, orl vice versa. the ears 29 and the lugs 30 will pass through the slots 25.' The numerals 31 represent the pivot bolts which pivotally secure a platform 32 to the ears 29. rlhe pivot bolts 31 pass through side straps 33 of the platform 32. This platform 32 may he a special structure, but preferably it is the ordinary tail-gate of the vehicle on which the inventionis attached. The tail-gate is used as a matter of economy. Connected to the outer ends of each of the side straps 32 is a chain 35, each chain 35 connecting to a lug 30 andr bl'i'eing for the purpose of supporting the platform 32 in a horizontal position as illustrated in the drawings.

On the forward part of each -vertical post 28 there is formed a toothed rack 39. Each ,upper arm 16 of each frame 13 is provided 'with an enlargement or boss 4() in which an upper end of a shaft 41 journals. A. lower end of each shaft 41 is journaled in au opening 42 formediu each body 15 of each frame 13. Secured on 'each of the shafts 41 between the upper arm and body of each frame 13 is a worm 43. Each vertical bearing 21 is'provided with an opening 45 through which each worm 43 extends and engages with the rack 39 of an adjacent post The lower end of each shaft 41 extends downwardly from the bodies 15 and a driven N0 bevel gear 46 is secured thereto. The lower arms 17 of each frame 13 provide a bearing 48. The bearings 48 rotatably support a drive shaft 49. Secured to the drive shaft 49 are drive bevel gears 51. There is a drive 105 bevel gear 51 secured in such a position as to mesh with a driven bevel gear 46; A collar 53 is secured at the right end of the drive shaft 49 of Fig. 3 to restrain it from axial movement. Each end of the 4drive U0 shaft 49l is polygonal, as `indicated at 54,

for the accommodation of a cranlr represented by dotted lines 56 in lffig. 3, by means of which crank the drive shaft may rotated in opposite directions. Since the pi atform 32 is pivotedto the ears 29 of the vertical post 28, it may be swng into the position indicated by dotted lines .33 "n 1. The platform is retained in thls position when it is not in use and when the vehicle 11 is travelin from one piace to another. When it is esired to use the elevator attachment the platform is allowed to swing into horizontal position, as shown in the various views of the drawings.

'When the platform is in raised position, as shown in Fig. 1, it is in the same plane as the floor 14 of the vehicle 11. The heavy articles to be removed from the vehicle are moved from the floor 14 onto the platform.

32. The wrench, represented at 56, is then applied to either of the drive shafts 49 and is operated to revolve the drive shaft 49 in-a proper direction to lower the platform 32. The drive bevel gears 51 being secured to the drive shaft 49 rotate therewith, and being in engagement with the driven bevel gears 46 cause them to rotate therewith. The driven bevel gears 46 in turn rotate the shafts 41 with which the worms 43 are turned. The rotation of the worms 43, because they are in engagement with the racks 39, cause the vertical pests 28 to move downwardly. In this manner the elevator 32 is moved from raised position (Fig. 1) into lower osition, as illustrated inFig. 2. The platform 32 when in lowered position rests on the ground and the heavy objects thereon may be readily taken therefrom with only a minlmum of manual effort. The platform 32 is Vremoved from lowered position into raised position by operating the crank in an opposite direction.

My invention when employed on a trucking vehicle reduces the labor necessary to load and unload the truck to a minimum. This is highly desirable especially when heavy objects are handled, since it relieves the workmen of a great deal of heavy lifting and eliminates the necessity for any extra help such as ordinarily required when the objects are very heavy. My mvention is economical to produce sin'ce it consists of a few simple but rugged parts. The simplicity of the parts, design and arrangement renders the elevator attachment very easy to install and very easy to operate. The elevator attachment may be used on trucks such as are used by business houses, and it also may be used to advantage by farmers who may attach them to automotive vehicles or to wagons. The invention is particularly adapted for use where very heavy objects are handled infrequently and there is no justineaaeso cation for providing expensive facilities for handling them` I claim as my invention: j

1. In combination: structure consisting of the floor of a vehicle; frames rigidly secured to the rear end of said door; vertical bearings sir-.i ed rigidly to said frames; vertical posts smlibly supported by said bearings1 a plat form supported in horizontal position by said posts; racks formed on said posts; worms supported by said frames adjacent to said floor, said worms enga ing said racks; and means for synchronous y rotating said worms.

2. In combination: structure consisting of the floor of a vehicle; frames rigidly secured to the rear end of said floor; vertical bear ings secured rigidly to said framesgwertical posts slidably supported by said bearings;

a platform supported in horizontal position- .by said posts; racks formed on said posts;

worms supported by saidy frames adjacent to said floor, said worms engaging said racks;

.a drive shaft extending horizontall below the plane of said-Hoor; and means rivably connecting -said drive shaft and said worms for synchronously operating said worms.

3. In combination: structure forming part of a vehicle; frames-secured to said structure, each frame having a body, an upper arm and a lower arm; vertical bearings supported by said frames; posts extending through Said vertical bearings; a horizontal platform secured to said posts; racks formed on said posts; shafts supported by said upper arms and said bodies of said frames; worms carried on said shafts and engaged with said racks; driven bevel gears secured to said shafts'below said bodies of said frames; a drive shaft supported by said lower arms of said frames; and drive bevel gears secured to said drive shaft and engaged with said driven bevel gears.

4. In combination: structure forming part of a vehicle; frames secured to said structure, each frame having a body, an upper arm and a lower arm; vertical bearings supported by said frames; posts extending through said vertical bearings; a horizontal platform consisting of the tail-gate of said vehicle secured to said posts: racks formed on said posts; shafts supported by said upper arms and said bodies of said frames; worms carried on said shafts and engaged with said racks; driven bevel gears secured to said shafts below said bodies of said frames; a

drive shaft supported bv said lower arms of sald frames; and drive bevel gears se cured to said drive shaft and engaged with said driven bevel gears. I

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand at Los AngelesI4 California, this 13th day of March, 1926.

- WILLIAM H. HEISE. 

